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Cascade Loop Road Trip: Day 4

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Thursday, July 30, 2026 Day 4 We slept in and ate breakfast at the hotel. We didn’t leave until around 10:30 and got to the trailhead shortly after 11AM.   Last night, while picking our hike for today, we kept reading words like “difficult” “steep” “buggy” and my least favorite “exposed to the sun - bring plenty of sunscreen and water.”    Many of the options would have required us to get up early before the parking lot fills, hike steep climbs of more than 7 miles, to see a pretty lake. “Wait, isn’t that what we did yesterday, and to a smaller degree, today?” we thought. Instead we went for a hike that was less than five miles long and had key words such as “easy” “mostly shaded” and “loop.”    Together with it being along a creek of running water which should equate to less bugs, we felt like this would be a winner for us today.  We were right. The trail was pleasant and enjoyable. The smell of sap and sun warmed fir needles surrounded us in the dappled s...
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Cascade Loop Road Trip: Day 3

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Wednesday, July 29, 2026 Day 3 The plan this morning was to spend a leisurely morning at camp. We have nowhere to be until check in at Leavenworth this afternoon, and the earliest that could be is 3PM.   We weren’t feeling too hungry, so we finished up the other half of our big muffins from yesterday, packed up our campsite and took a beautiful drive down North Cascade Scenic Highway.   Despite not being in a hurry, we reached the Blue Lake trailhead at 9AM.    The air was still chilly as we started our hike. We had opted for the “we feel good” hike, as we were pleasantly surprised not to be really sore when we woke up.  We started up the trail. It went along the highway for a little bit. Then there were boardwalk sections. And then some winding uphill trail. It went next through a meadow surrounded by mountains. We continued further up to the mountain lake.  There were so many fish jumping!    Not only were the fish jumping, but the water wa...
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Cascade Loop Road Trip: Day 2

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Tuesday, July 28, 2026 Day 2 The Ranger had told us that there was a great hike up to Cascade Pass, however the parking lot, we were warned, fills up by 9AM.   We got up in plenty of time and ate some poppyseed muffins as we headed to the trailhead. When we got to the portion of the road that was unpaved, we ended up behind someone driving very cautiously, and very SLOWLY.    We inched along, mile after mile, and still made it to the parkinglot by about 8 AM. And it was pretty full. But we found a spot to park, and readied ourselves for the hike. Looking at the map at the trailhead, we were prepared for switchbacks and elevation gain. The ranger had mentioned that it was a climb, but worth it.  We had a great hike. I closed my movement ring (burned enough calories for the day) by 9:30AM. That was a first! 😄 We were both feeling grateful to encounter this trail at the end of the summer when we’d already done quite a bit of hiking - from a physical conditioning standp...
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